pov. Tony

I had lost track of time. I didn't even know if it was day or night, I hadn't seen daylight since I was here. I lay in my bed with one hand on my forehead trying to get a clear thought. "Tony focus!" I reprimanded myself, slapping myself lightly across the face. Leila was right, they had figured out pretty quickly that I wasn't taking my so-called medicine and from then on stood in the room with the stun gun ready until I had swallowed the pills. The first time I didn't care, they had tased me until I fainted, I didn't took the pills.

But the next day they threatened to do something to Leila and even though I didn't knew her for long, I didn't want anything to happen to the girl because of me. Groaning, I turned over by the bed. My whole body was drained and exhausted, the injuries from Howard and Walker healed long ago. But every time I woke up, they sent me to do another job. I had already lost count of what it was all about, one day it was chopping wood, another I had to fill a pool with only a water bucket, hauling water up from a well, yet another they had me clean a large hall with only a toothbrush. They wanted to break me, but every time I even thought about not resisting anymore, I thought of Stephen, how happy I was with him, and I immediately dismissed the thought of submitting. My eyes fell on Leila's bed, it was empty.
"They must have taken her while I was asleep." I straightened up when I heard footsteps in the hallway. I quickly ran my hand through my hair, it was longer now, even my clothes were hanging down on me a little looser than when I first put them on.

Like every time, the door was yanked open with a flourish and Jared came into the room, his hand resting on the stun gun "Come on Stark, make it easy for both of us."
I just sighed and got up from the bed before walking towards him with an expressionless face. Behind him, I spotted a second person who had stayed in the background until now. The man was tall and muscular, just like everyone else here, he wore a white nurse's uniform, with blond hair falling into his tanned face. For a moment my gaze lingered on him, I didn't know what it was, but something about this keeper was different from all the others, he didn't radiate hatred as he looked at me.

Without making a big fuss, I let Jared grab me by the arm. I had learned when it was worth resisting and when I should just let things happen to me. In this case it was the latter, because if anyone disobeyed in their eyes, their food rations were cut, and my stomach was already aching with hunger.
"You'll have to watch out for this one Rogers" Jared locked the door and looked at the new guy "he looks lanky but causes trouble for us quite often." he shoved me forward a bit causing me to stumble and then just kept walking like nothing happened.
"Yes sir, got it." the blond looked stubbornly straight ahead, not a single emotion visible on his face. He might have been able to fool Jared, but not me. I was the master at hiding my true feelings and this man was clearly hiding anger.
"But anger at who?" I asked myself as I walked down the gray hallway, Jared close behind me. As I was about to descend the staircase as usual, I felt Jared's hand on my shoulder with a crash, making me wince a little.
"It's this way today." Jared pointed to the other branch of the hallway that I had never had to walk.I opened my eyes again, which I had squinted involuntarily, and looked down the hallway, it looked no different than any other. It wasn't long before we had reached our destination and Jared again not-so-gently stopped me from walking past the door.
I pricked up my ears a bit as I heard a voice behind the door "She's done for the day, bring me the next one." it took me a second to realize it was Dr. Franklin's voice I heard through the door.

I stepped back a little, not willingly, Jared pulling me aside by the arm as the door opened. My breath stopped for a moment, because as the door opened I saw Leila. She was hanging powerlessly between two men who just dragged her along, even though she didn't even have her feet on the ground "No.......Dad.....Andrea, Mum.........please don't." she mumbled completely unrelated things to herself.

"Leila!" I wanted to run towards her but Jared held me back, I tossed and turned a bit and glared at the blonde orderly in front of me "what have you done to her!" an incredible rage flooded my entire body, so this was the room Leila had always come from when she was crying all over my shirt, completely distraught.
I heard Jared laughing behind me "Don't worry, you're about to find out!" he tightened his grip on my arms and pushed me into the room.
I only half-heartedly resisted, still too shocked by the sight of Leila. The room was empty except for a doctor's couch with buckles attached for arms, legs and torso. The sight of Dr. Franklin holding a syringe in her hand woke me up again. I slumped to the floor, making myself as heavy as possible and trying to hold onto the door frame.

"Rogers" Jared was struggling to hold me and at the same time dislodge my fingers from the door frame " give me a hand here!"
Rather hesitantly, it was a mystery to me why, the blond came up to me, yanked my fingers free of the door frame and took my feet.
I pulled myself together and screamed, whatever was inside that squirt, I did not under any circumstances want to find out what they were doing to my mind. But I couldn't fight the two men, they just carried me to the cot and strapped me to it. As good as immobile, I glared at the woman in the red and black costume.
She just smiled "there's no need to be afraid" she raised her spray "the first phase didn't work on you, you're stronger than I thought at first." I moved my head as far away as I could as she moved the syringe to my neck "let's start phase two!" with those words she grabbed my head and stabbed me in the neck with the needle.

A strangled scream escaped me as the contents of my syringe spread through my veins like liquid fire. Almost instantly my vision blurred "What......what did you do...?" i had to work hard to form the words. The room began to spin, the two orderlies disappeared, then the woman, they were all swallowed by the incredible darkness that flooded the room.
Suddenly I was no longer lying on the couch, I was squatting on the cold tile floor. Confused, I stood up and looked around.
"Anthony!" I froze when I heard his voice.
Trembling with fear, I turned around and there he stood, dressed as always in a perfectly fitting suit. "Ho...wa...rd" I couldn't stop my voice from shaking. As much as I wanted to run away, I didn't move an inch as he came at me.

His mouth was twisted reproachfully "I'm so disappointed in you Anthony" before I could even blink I felt a burning on my cheek, I went to my knees "all you have to do to get out of here is get better and you can't even do that!"
A little blood ran down my chin, he had slapped me so hard that my lip had split open. My lip trembled a little as I looked up at him, almost giant like my father towered over me "I'm not sick!" every word I said was as firm as titanium.
I saw the fist coming but couldn't dodge it, crashing it landed on my nose. I was thrown to the side and landed on the floor, blood collecting in my mouth, I spat it at Howard's feet.

"Hey asshole!" I couldn't believe my eyes, out of nowhere Stephen had appeared and gave Howard a chop so hard he collapsed unconscious.
I smiled in relief and scrambled to my feet before running towards the person who had been the only reason I hadn't broken here. "Stephen!" as tightly as I could, I wrapped my arms around him as if he would disappear, would I let him go.
I felt his hands stroking my back "Oh Tones." his voice broke a little.
Tears came to my eyes as well, I broke away from him again and finally looked back into the blue eyes I had missed so much.
Gently he stung the tears from my cheek "I found you." he murmured softly and put his forehead to mine.
I closed my eyes and laughed.
"Hey, you guys can work this out later" we pulled apart and my head whirled to the door where Bucky was standing looking at us hurriedly "we gotta go!"

I just nodded, just glad to see him.
I felt Stephen's hand sweep over my shoulder "Come on, let's go."
All of a sudden a click sounded, stiff with fear I whirled to Howard who was still on the floor pointing a gun at me "You will not leave this place alive Anthony!" as if in slow motion he pulled the trigger.
I heard my own heartbeat, the shot was like thunder, I closed my eyes and waited for the painful impact of the bullet in my heart. But it didn't come.
Instead, all I heard was Stephen coughing "Tones...."

I opened my eyes again and cried out in horror, a large red spot spreading across Stephen's chest. He stood in front of me looking at me out of widened eyes. With his hand on the bullet wound, he went to his knees.
"No" I dropped to my knees beside him "no Stephen, stay with me!" Tears gathered in my eyes, only peripherally I noticed how Bucky, furious with rage, knocked Howard out again. Desperately I tried to stop the bleeding, but more and more blood kept pouring out of the wound.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my "Tony!" Stephen's bloody hand was on mine still trying to stop the bleeding "you have to promise me something......" he was gasping for breath "promise me......" he coughed a little, my tears dripping down his neck "promise me you won't break!"
"No Stephen" I sobbed a little "you.... you'll be fine you hear me!" i would not allow him to just die for me.

With a strength I didn't think he had anymore he clawed at my shirt half sitting up "promise me!"
Tearfully, I nodded, "I promise." I had a hand on his cheek, which in turn was covered in his blood.
Stephen's eyes went blank, his burst stopped rising and falling and his hands stood still for the first time in years. He was dead. I cried out "Stephen please, please don't." desperately I smoothed my hands over his face, but it was too late. I would never hear his laugh again, never feel his lips on mine again, never see the twinkle in his eyes when he laughed, because he was dead. He was dead and it was my fault.
I screamed out in pain and collapsed over my boyfriend's dead body. A cold, black void formed in the place in my chest where my heart had once been.

I startled when I felt a hand on my shoulder, turning around I saw Bucky with tears streaming down his face as well "It's my fault." Tears ran unstoppably down my face.
Bucky knelt down next to me "No it's not." he looked to the door "we have to get out of here" he swallowed hard "Stephen would have wanted it this way."
I didn't get to answer, the door was pulled down and orderlies rushed into the room. All with batons and stun guns at the ready. I slapped my hand over my mouth. Two of them were holding Sam, who could barely stand on his feet.
His face was a shambles of scratches and bruises, sweat covered his face and neck and he held his ribs, gasping " Sorry, there were just too many." he looked up with his face contorted in pain.
"Shut up!" one of the orderlies jabbed a baton into his stomach.
Choking, Sam fell to his knees.
"KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Bucky stood up, trembling with rage, and clenched his hands into fists.

Jared, who was at the front, raised his hands a little and ten orderlies came running toward us. Bucky fought like a dog gone wild, kicking around, punching men in the face, and in some cases knocking two men over at the same time by throwing himself on them with all his weight. I just stayed sitting next to Stephen, it wasn't that I didn't want to help Bucky, but the grief was flowing coldly through my veins, making even the slightest movement impossible. Bucky had almost made his way to Sam, but that's when five men threw themselves at him at once. He screamed and cursed at them but they silenced him with an elector's stool. Wincing, he turned on the floor.
"Bucky! " Sam looked desperately at his boyfriend who lay twitching on the floor "Stop it! Leave him alone!" screamed Sam desperately, trying to escape the grip of his guardians.

Bucky was dragged to his feet, in front of Jared, whom he glared at. Jared just grinned and punched Bucky in the face. The brown-haired man collapsed and hung between his guards before standing back up and spitting defiantly in Jared's face.
"Get them out of here!" Jared wiped his face.
Too drained to put up much of a fight Sam and Bucky were dragged from the room, the last I heard of them was them screaming for each other, then silence.

I was still sitting on the floor, not noticing a thing. I just couldn't take my eyes off Stephen. It was all my fault, Bucky and Sam were doomed to this place because of me and Stephen...... I sobbed out and screamed, I screamed out all my pain, even though I could never scream enough to get all the pain out of my body that was choking my lungs.

Wincing, I squirmed on the cot, the straps had cut a little into my skin. Panicked, I looked around; Dr. Franklin and the two orderlies were still standing in the room. Dr. Franklin just eyed me indifferently, Jared slightly amused and the other blond, I didn't know where he had disappeared to. Exhausted, I let my head fall back onto the couch "None of that was real." I muttered, there was nothing more I could do except hope that none of it had really happened but in my head.

"Back to his room with him!" the lady in charge of this department was jotting something down on her clipboard.
I felt the straps being loosened, and as Jared pushed me down from the cot my feet almost couldn't take my weight. Again and again the images of this hallucination flashed before my inner eye. No matter what I did I could not forget them. I didn't even notice as I stumbled down the hallway back to my room, so disturbed was I by what I had seen. I only started to see things clearly again when I was pushed into the room by Jared. I hit the floor and just stayed there kneeling on all fours, I just didn't have the will to get up again.
A hand came out of nowhere to rest on my shoulder, I flinched and looked up into the blond's face "Tony, I'm here to help you." he smiled kindly at me.

But I wasn't going to be duped by a friendly smile, so many times they had pulled this off, first they messed me up and then they wanted to help me "Leave me alone" I jumped up and stumbled a few steps away from him "I don't need or want your help, not from you!"
The blond opened his mouth but was interrupted by a shout of "Rogers!" from Jared. He got up from his crouch, let his gaze rest on me once more for a moment, and then walked through the door, which clicked shut. It wasn't until he was gone that I allowed the tears I'd been convulsively holding back to come out. I involuntarily backed away until my back hit a wall and I slid down it. Crying, I buried my fingers in my hair, knowing full well that what I had seen could not be real, there was still a tiny part of me that was terrified that it was real.
I didn't even notice Leila coming toward me until she slid down the wall beside me and gently touched me on the shoulder "It wasn't real."

I looked up and looked into her pale face "I know that, but it's still......" I didn't finish the sentence, because she knew what I was going to say even as I said it. I closed my eyes shakily exhaling and leaned my head against the wall. Despair crept up inside me, this one thing, this hallucination had destroyed me more than all the things they had forced me to do before. I wasn't sure I could take it again.

"Tony" I looked back at Leila as I heard her voice "you told me we were going home." she looked at me firmly "you can't give up hope, that's what they want." she moved a little closer to me and touched my shoulder with hers "you're going home Tony."

I smiled weakly, a tear rolling down my cheek as I leaned over a bit and came to rest my head on Leila's shoulder. Like that we just sat there, I had my eyes closed and was listening to my own breathing. Leila was right, I must not give them what they wanted by giving up hope, but the more time passed, the greater the fear that the others had simply given up on me, that no one would come and I would never get out of here.